The Premonition
by LunarDaffodil
Summary: Jimena has had a premonition, but she refuses to tell the other Daughters especially Serena, and she and Stanton must do their best to keep it from coming true, sequel to A Love Still Forbidden...please R
1. Chapter 1

The Premonition

By: LunarDaffodil

Chapter 1

            It had been almost a month since Lambert had nearly gotten his hands on the key. A month since Serena had last seen Stanton; though she claimed she could sense him nearby. A month since Jimena had had her premonition. She refused to tell Serena what she had seen. How could she? She knew how Serena would react, and she just couldn't bring herself to tell her. She hadn't even told the other Daughters, for fear that they would either let it slip or Serena would read their minds and find out. She wasn't sure why she had even told Stanton, but she felt that maybe he could do something to stop it, even though she knew it was pointless. Part of her premonition had already come true. She hoped that the second part wouldn't. She had tried using her new power to look into the future to see the outcome, but the visions were to blurred for her to make out. The one thing she saw that she understood was blood.

            She walked up the small walkway to Serena's house. She had been spending as much time with Serena as possible, since she felt responsible for Stanton breaking up with her, and she wanted to do what she could to make sure the premonition wasn't going to come true. Serena didn't know that Jimena kept in contact with Stanton. He was checking into some things for her, and was keeping her posted. He was also keeping watch over Serena, even though Serena didn't know it.

            She went around back and entered the kitchen. Collin was sitting at the table looking worried about something, a few of his mythology books were spread in front of him.

            "What's wrong?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek.

            "Serena's not here, she didn't mention going out, and she knows that we don't want her going out alone after what happened." He said.

            Jimena muttered a curse under her breath, she hoped that Stanton was keeping an eye on her. 

            "She didn't have a cello lesson or anything today?" She asked him, but he shook his head.

            They heard the front door slam and sighed with relief. Collin got up from his chair and disappeared down the hall. He came back with Serena following him.

            "Where have you been, chica?" Jimena asked.

            "I went to get some air. You two are smothering me!" She cried angrily.

            "Did you forget what happened last month?" Jimena asked, with just as much anger in her voice. "God girl, none of us want you to turn to the dark side. Lambert could be anywhere; we don't know what he's plotting. We just want you to be careful."

            "I can look out for myself, Jimena! I don't need you and Collin following me everywhere. You're treating me like a baby!" She cried and stormed up the stairs, ignoring the wounded faces she left in the kitchen.

            "God, doesn't she understand we're just trying to protect her?" Jimena asked Collin.

            He wrapped his arms tight around her. "She's just angry right now. She had to go through a lot last month. It must be hard being the key between light and dark. Especially when you have people you truly care about on both sides."

            "Yeah…" Jimena said, but still, it hurt when she thought about what Serena said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

            Jimena sat across from Maggie. She and Collin had decided to post pone their plans so that she could talk to Maggie about her premonition.

            After she had finished telling Maggie about her premonition Maggie sighed and shook her head in a saddened way.

            "I know this day would come. I was hoping we would be able to defeat the Atrox before this, but Lambert was freed from Stanton and I've been suspecting an event like the one you saw in your premonition." Maggie told her, handing her a cup of hot tea.

            "What should I do? I've been trying to protect Serena--" Jimena started, but Maggie cut her off.

            "You cannot take this all on yourself. You must tell the other Daughters about your premonition." Maggie said, sipping her tea.

            "Even Serena?" Jimena asked.

            Maggie considered this for a moment. Then shook her head, "Don't tell Serena. If your premonition is going to come true, it's for the best that she doesn't know."

            "I hate keeping secrets from her."

            "I know, but it's the best way."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

            Vanessa was pale, Catty and Tianna were silent. Jimena knew that her premonition had hit them hard.

            "What are we going to do?" Tianna asked.

            "What can we do? We've never been able to keep Jimena's premonition from coming true before." Vanessa said, her voice was shaky.

            "There has to be a way. The followers managed to change an event. Maybe we can change this. I mean it hasn't happened yet." Catty said, determinedly.

            "How? We don't even know what to change." Vanessa said.

            "Besides, we don't even know when it's going to happen, so you can't skip ahead to find out." Tianna said.

            "I can hop time until I find it." Catty suggested, preparing to open the tunnel.

            "Wait, aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here? What about Serena?" Vanessa asked.

            "We can't tell her. I wasn't even going to tell you in case she found out from reading your mind." Jimena said.

            "I think Serena should at least know part of it. She's already totally pissed at you for smothering her, she's going to know we're all keeping something from her." Tianna said.

            "We can't tell her. You know how she would react." Jimena argued.

            "Are you sure it's wise to let Stanton watch over her after seeing the part he played in it?" Vanessa asked.

            Jimena nodded, "Somehow I just know that it's for the best."

            "I hate this," Catty said, the others nodded their heads in agreement.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

            Jimena and Collin stood on the beach. Tianna had invited everyone over to her house to spend the night. Jimena was planning on going over there later, but she had been blowing off Collin too much lately due to her premonition.

            "Still worried about Serena?" Collin asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

            "I can't help not worrying about her after that premonition." Jimena said, staring into his clear blue eyes.

            Something was tugging at the back of her mind. She wondered what it was until Collin spoke again.

            "Have you decided what you're going to do about your premonition?" Collin asked, "Are you going to tell Serena?"  
            "I can't," Jimena said, shaking her head.

            The moon was starting to rise and the feeling of something tugging at the back of her mind increased. She pulled away from Collin and walked down to the shore. She stepped into the warm water and grasped her moon amulet.

            Another premonition hit her hard, nearly making her fall, but Collin caught her.

            "What? A premonition?" He asked.

            "We have to get to Tianna's." She said, breathily. "It's going to happen tonight."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Serena entered the bathroom. She knew that Tianna was having the sleep over so they could keep an eye on her. It wasn't hard to figure out because they kept casting nervous glances at each other and were careful to keep their minds closed. Occasionally a stray thought would cross her mind.

Finally she just asked them outright what they were hiding from her, but they claimed they weren't hiding anything. So she told them she had to go to the bathroom. She needed to get out of there; they were too tense.

A shadow swept in from the open window. Her heart accelerated and her moon amulet began to glow. A figure rose from the shadow and soon Stanton stood in front of her.

For a moment neither of them spoke. Serena knew that something was wrong, but she was so happy to see him that she didn't care.

"Come on Serena." He said, opening his arms.

She walked slowly over to him, studying his eyes. She hadn't seen him for a month, but she had felt that he was close by her.

"What's the matter? Haven't you missed me? I've thought about you everyday since we broke up." He told her. She could see the pain in his face.

"I've missed you so much!" She said, falling into his arms. Tears pricked her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. So many emotions ran through her at that moment. Happiness, love, and rising above all the others was suspicion.

Why had Stanton come back? He was afraid of Jimena's premonition coming true, he had told her that when he told her he couldn't see her anymore, yet here he was. Why did he keep doing this to her? He would come and stay for a while then find a reason why they should be apart. Didn't he know how much she loved him? Did he even care that he hurt her?

"Of course I care." He said pulling back slightly so that he could look down at her. He looked wounded and she knew that he had caught her thoughts. "Serena I love you, you know I love you. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't stay away from you. The Atrox may have my soul, but you have my heart, and you always will."

"I know." She said, hugging him tightly.

There was a knock on the door.

"Serena, are you okay in there?" Vanessa called. "Who are you talking to?"

(Sorry it took me so long to get this up, I've had a lot going on lately. I'll try to keep it updated regularly now. Keep checking back, okay? ^^)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

            Collin sped through the streets of Los Angeles toward Tianna's house. Jimena was focusing on trying to foresee what exactly was going to happen, but as usual the visions she got were too blurred for her to figure out.

            "What did you see?" Collin asked, when she slumped back in her seat both exhausted and feeling defeated.

            "Nothing as usual. I only got blurred visions. I should have just saved my energy." She said, blinking back her tears. No matter what she knew she had to save Serena from the fate she had foreseen.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

            Vanessa knocked on the door again, still no answer from Serena. Apprehension filled her and she walked quickly back to Tianna's room. They looked up at her in concern when they saw that Serena wasn't with her.

            "She won't answer the door. I think something is wrong." Vanessa said, crossing her arms.

            Tianna stood up, "She has to come out sometime."

            They all followed Vanessa out of the room. As soon as they reached the bathroom door Jimena came thundering up the stairs.

            "Where's Serena?" She asked breathlessly.

            "She locked herself in the bathroom." Tianna said.

            Jimena pounded on the door. "Serena, open this door now!" After a moment of silence she turned to Tianna. "Use your power to open it. Something isn't right."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

            The lock on the door turned and a moment later Serena and Stanton were no longer the only ones in the bathroom.

            "What's going on in here?" Jimena asked, "I thought you weren't going to come in contact with her anymore."

            "You knew about him watching me? And you didn't even bother to say something? I thought we were friends Jimena, but you haven't been telling me a lot lately, so how could I have thought that?" Serena snapped, pushing away from him.

            Jimena jerked as if she had been slapped. "It's for your own good. Stanton is going to betray you, Serena! What do I have to do to get you to understand that?"

            "He will not!" She cried.

            Stanton placed his arms around her waist. "How could I betray the one person I love?"

            "You're incapable of loving. You're too full of evil." Catty hissed.

            "Would you stop? Stanton loves me, not even the Atrox can take that from him! Why can't you just get over yourselves?" Serena yelled.

            "I can see we can't get them to understand." Stanton said, holding out his hand.

            Serena took it and they dissolved into shadow.

            "NO!" Vanessa cried, trying to block their exit, but they slid through the crack in the window.

            "Come on, Collin left the van running in the driveway." Jimena said, and they followed her out of the house.

            Three feet away from the porch a shadow formed in front of them. A moment later Stanton stood in front of them, without Serena.

            "What did you do with Serena?" Jimena asked coldly.

            "I haven't seen Serena since she came here." He said, the confusion in his eyes seemed genuine, but she couldn't help being suspicious.

            "Don't lie to me, I just saw you in the bathroom. You dissolved into shadow and went out the window."

            "What are you talking about? After Serena came here I went to the Dungeon to see if I could find any information on Lambert's whereabouts." He said.

            "Then who was in my bathroom?" Tianna asked.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

            Serena sat in a chair in the corner, watching Stanton converse with a group of people in black billowing cloaks. They seemed pleased at something he had done, but she wasn't concerned. She knew they were part of the inner circle, her moon amulet was letting off a bright silver light, but no one seemed to notice, they were too focused on Stanton.

            He had assured her that everything was all right, that they wouldn't do anything. She could trust him. He loved her. That was all that mattered, not the daughters, not peace, nothing but his love for her.

            He promised her that nothing would keep them apart anymore. That was what she wished for deep in the night. That was all she wanted. That was all that kept her going. The thought that they would be together. The thought that nothing could come between them. It was all so simple. So easy. Why hadn't they thought of it before.

            So clear, so easy, so simple…

            _Tonight is the night when I leave the daughters. Tonight is the night of destiny, the prophesized night. Tonight is the night we've hoped for._


	10. Chapter 10

A/N~ I know that I said that I was going to try and keep this updated regularly. Unfortunately I've had a lot of trouble with this chapter and a lot of stuff going on in my life. But I'm back and I'm determined to get this done. (Finally) So I apologize to everyone who has waited so patiently (cough cough) for me to finish this up. Here goes. The moment we've all been waiting for. (Cues the drum roll):

Chapter 10

            The Daughters stood in a circle surrounding Stanton. They wouldn't be able to stop him if he decided to turn into a shadow and escape, but they would have an easier time trying this way.

            None of them believed his story. They had all seen him there. Why was he bothering to deny it? But it still seemed wrong to them. No matter how strange his story seemed there was still a small part of them that wanted to believe him.

            Now Serena was gone, Stanton was denying having anything to do with it, even though they had seen him. Everything was getting more and more confusing. Now was one of those times the girls wished that they had nothing to do with the Daughters. But how could they deny their heritage? How could they let the Atrox take over their world?

            "We have to find out where Serena is. I'm thinking that whoever took her—"  Stanton started

            "Which was you." Jimena said.

            "I didn't take her!" He yelled, "If I had taken her, why would I be standing here fighting about it with you, I'd be taking her somewhere. Like I already told you, I just got back from The Dungeon.

            "But that's not the point, I came here to tell you that the Atrox has a new plan that involves Serena."

            "What's his plan?" Vanessa asked worriedly.

            "If I knew that I wouldn't be standing here talking about it, I'd be trying to stop it. It's supposed to happen tonight." He said.

            "It must have something to do with my premonition! We've got to stop them!" Jimena said, her eyes wide.

            "But Jimena, we've never been able to keep your premonitions from coming true." Catty said.

            "Well, this time, we have to. If we don't, it means the end of the world as we know it…" Jimena said, turning her gaze to the nearly full moon. She knew in her heart that whatever the Atrox's plan was, it had to be pretty sure that it was going to be able to complete it to do it so close to the full moon, when the daughters were most powerful.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

            Serena stood once more before the cold fire. Ice crystals were forming enchanting patterns up her arms, yet she hesitated. A moment ago she had been so certain that everything was fine and that this was what they had been waiting for for so long. But now…

            Stanton had never tried to force her to join him. In fact, he had been so against it, with the exception of the time Lambert had tried to get Stanton to give him the key. She was the key. She would destroy the balance of peace that they had worked so hard to protect for her own personal happiness. It wasn't right.

            She sighed and turned her back on the fire. A shiver ran down her spine at how close she came to stepping in.

            Stanton stood behind her, the cloaked men standing in a circle around the fire. He looked confused at the fact that she hadn't stepped in.

            "What's wrong Serena? I thought that you were going to give up everything to be with me?"

            Serena shook her head and found it suddenly hard to swallow. "I can't do it."

            Stanton's features grew dark with anger. "Step into the fire, Serena."

            "I just told you, I can't do it." A tremor of fear crept into her voice.

            Stanton stepped forward and in reaction Serena took a small step back. She teetered at the edge of the fire, the cold seeping into her skin making her shiver.

            "Step into the fire, Serena." Stanton said again, this time his voice was dangerously low.

            Tears filled her eyes at his tone. Her love and her doubt filled her mind, confusing her thoughts. She shook her head. "I can't…"

            Without warning Stanton lunged forward and pushed her back into the fire. The flames caught her, caressing her, burning away her mortality. She screamed, loud and long, until her voice felt raw. She knew that this time there wouldn't be anyone to save her. All she could see as she felt the evil seep into her soul was the light in Stanton's triumphant eyes. A crystallized tear fell from her eye. _I've failed them all_…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

            Jimena watched as Stanton fell to his knees and clutched at his chest. Despite herself, she quickly found herself on her knees beside him, tightly clutching his shoulders. His breath was coming in jagged gasps.

            "Stanton? What's wrong?" She cried, her voice worried. He didn't answer at first, and when he did she had to lean close to hear him. "Serena…" He whispered.

            "Serena? Do you know where she is?" Tianna asked, kneeling down in front of him and looking into his eyes.

            "She's in danger…"

            "Where is she? Where's Serena?" Jimena repeated, her voice hard with frustration.

            "I have to save her…" He said, struggling to his feet. Jimena pushed him back in, and the fact that she could do it was surprising. He was Prince of the Dark, second in command to the Atrox. He was a lot stronger than she could ever hope to be.

            "You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on." Jimena said.

            "I just told you. Serena's in danger! Now let me go, I have to save her."

            "Let us come with you. We can help." Vanessa said, coming up next to Jimena to lend her support.

            "There's nothing you can do, she's beyond your power now," he said, dissolving into shadow and whipping away before they could say another word.

            "Damn it!" Jimena said, pounding her fist into her hand.

            "Come on," Tianna said, grabbing her arm and leading her to the van, "Maybe there's still something we can do."

            "But how? We don't even know where they are." Catty said, falling into step behind them.

            "Then we'll just have to drive around until we find them," Jimena said.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

            Stanton reappeared in an alley. She was close. Real close. Where was she? He knew that the Atrox had turned the key towards darkness. And he knew that all she had to do was commit one act of true evil, in favor of the Atrox, before she was allowed to keep her immortality. He intended to stop it.

            In his heart he yearned that it could remain like this. He could bind her to him for an eternity, and she would come willingly now, but although he was Prince of the Night, first in line for the throne of the Atrox, the fourth most evil creature in the universe, the Atrox being the first, Aura and Lambert falling in second and third and that was only because he held his love for Serena deep in his heart when he had stepped into the cold fire and when he had willingly turned back to the Atrox, he wanted to protect Serena. Their greed and lust for power drove them in ways that he would never understand. She was in danger now, and would be until the day she turned seventeen and had to make her decision, possibly as long as she lived. Whether she was a force good or evil he would always love her and protect her. This wasn't the way she was supposed to be. She was a daughter to both Selene and Hekate.

            _Stanton…_ her cool voice whispered across his mind. He turned to face his true love and saw with a start that her eyes glowed phosphorescent although he had expected it. He knew what had happened. She had stepped into the cold fire. Whether it was by choice or by force he wasn't sure. He could see from the reflection in her eyes that his own glowed as well but that wasn't what caught his attention.

            "I thought I left you in the pits of the underworld. You said that you would wait for me there. What made you change your mind? Did you not think that I could handle the Daughters on my own? You know that you can't help me in order for me to remain immortal," she said, her voice showing the depth of her confusion in a way her expression could not. Her eyes contained too much lust for vengeance and evil.

            "What are you talking about?" he asked, now every bit as confused as she apparently was.

            "After you pushed me into the fire, the Atrox asked me to destroy the Daughters in order for the key to turn in full. You know that. You were standing right next to me," she replied.

            "Serena, I wasn't there. I was with Jimena and the others, where you should have been, only I supposedly pulled you out a window and vanished," he said, his suspicion deepening. Something was very, very wrong.

            Serena eyed him unbelievingly. How could he say that after all they had been through this night? Wasn't this something that they had been waiting for almost since the day they had met? She had gone into the cold fire, even if it hadn't been by choice in the end, and now they could be together for all of eternity as evil was unleashed upon the world of light. They would rule over it together. "What's going on with you?"

            "No. The question is: What's going on with you? Why did you all of the sudden decide to step into the fire. We've talked about this. You belong in the world of light, and I in the world of darkness. If you turn, then all hell breaks lose in the world of light."

            "I know that. Isn't it great? It's what we've been waiting for!" She said, twirling in her excitement.

            "No. It's what I've been waiting for." A voice said. A figure appeared from the shadows behind Stanton. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. Standing behind him was…himself….


End file.
